UV LED water treatment

I use a Reverse Osmosis system for drinking water. To eliminate any risk from bacteria growth in the storage tank or filters after periods of non-use, I’ve installed a UV LED water treatment unit after the RO system. Unlike traditional UV units that use a lamp, UV LED units are virtually maintenance-free.

I went with AquiSense’s PearlAqua Micro 12C model. It’s the only US-made UV water treatment product I could find that’s readily available. The PearlAqua’s UV-C LEDs are rated for 5000 hours so the unit should last for many years as the LEDs are only active when water is flowing.

This particular model also includes a feature called UV PulseCare, which enables UV output for one second every 30 minutes to prevent biological growth within the PearlAqua Micro reactor.

Note that due to the nature of RO water, you should only use plastic and/or 316 stainless steel fittings for RO water. In my setup I’ve used John Guest push-to-connect fittings and Uponor ProPEX 316 stainless steel fittings.